HIST 300-14: Beer in the United States

Welcome

This page is more than a course guide for Jeff Charles' History 300-14 (Fall 2018) but a brief record of what it takes to develop an archive of San Diego craft brewing's history.

This project was the outcome of the question "Who's saving San Diego's brewing history?" asked by CSUSM Library Associate Dean (and homebrewer) Char Booth. This question was asked during the Library review of a proposed CSUSM professional brewing certificate program which is launching Spring of 2019.

Finding that none of the local universities were building a special collection of the recent local brewing industry, we took it on.

After two years of work (and learning) the Brewchivetm is building its collection every day to support research, the local brewing community, and save history in the making.

The CSUSM Brewchivetm is a collection within the CSUSM Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).

Create a list of potential questions but be open to wherever the interview takes you.

Have your recording device fully charged!

You should have certain facts established and can develop questions from missing or conflicting information.

When was the business founded.

who are the owners (are they the brewers as well?)

If the owners are not the brewers, who are the 'boots on the ground'?

If a corporation, who are the members?

Did they start up the brewery or buy an existing operation?

Locations, both past and present.

Some sense of the focus or theme of the brewery.

Review any events calendar on their website.

Do they have an "About" or "History" page?

The interview

Sit in as quiet an area as possible.

Review the permission form and make any changes needed or clarify questions.

Turn on the equipment and identify yourself and the date of the recording.

Have the narrator identify themselves and where they are being interviewed. (This provides a baseline for any transcription.)

Sample questions to include in your prompt

Keep in mind each narrator's experience is different and they will tell you what they find important (or can remember.) You can ask for clarification on statements, but do not plan on 'leading the witness'. If they decline to answer a question, let it go as there may be something sensitive they do not wish to record.

Start with verifying the facts you have discovered in your research (when the business started, etc.) as this will help ease the narrator into the process.

What path did they follow to this business?

What is the educational and practical background of the founders/owners/brewers?

Do they have anyone they consider a mentor?

Have they mentored anyone or had an employee start another brewery?

Are all owners active in the operation or are some silent partners?

How did they come up with the name of their business?

What is their philosophy (for both their beers and their environment?)

Do they sponsor any charities or causes?

What styles of beers did they start with?

Do they have a favorite beer style?

is there any style of beer they haven't tried brewing that they are considering?

Do they belong to any brewing organizations/merchant associations?

How do they view the San Diego brewing community?

What are future plans? Physical expansion, product expansion, or ???

Where do they see the current brewery scene looking like in 5, 10 or 20 years? (Both San Diego and broader view)

Additional questions

These can range from "What do you do with your spent grain?" to "if you hadn't opened a brewery, what would you be doing instead?"

Closing the interview

Thank the narrator for their time and turn off the recorder.

If this is for the Brewchivetm records, I explain the transcription will be provided to them for review (there may be something they wish to edit).